At Midnight of the Moon
At ''Mid''night ''of ''the ''Moon'' Episode Six, Season Four, of Cold. Enjoy <3 At Midnight of the Moon “It’s the Gathering tonight.” I nodded and sighed, “Yeah, but I don’t know how we’re going to convince the leaders about your message.” Tessa shrugged, but she didn’t look particularly interested in telling the other Clans. “You could tell them.” I shook my head, “It is better that it comes from you. You’re the one who remembers it anyways.” The ginger she-cat sighed, but didn’t reply. Brownhare looked up from his position and mewed, “Should we get Dawnfur, Willowfur, and Snowbreeze and get ready for the Gathering?” I sighed, “There’s still the whole day, let’s hunt. They can hang out with their Clan for awhile; we’re not on a mission or anything.” Brownhare nodded in reply, and he stood up, stretching. “Where are you going, Shade?” The patter of tiny paws alerted me. Wavekit stood in front of me, his tiny head tipped back, “Are you going to play Leader with us?” He pleaded. I exchanged glances with Brownhare and sighed, “Soon, we’re going to go hunting first, so we can eat.” Mosskit opened her mouth to protest, but her stomach grumbled in response. She looked embarrassed, but I laughed, “We’ll be quick. Tessa, can you watch them for me?” The ginger she-cat nodded, and I noticed that she looked more relaxed. Brownhare took the lead as we slipped outside in the cool air. “Let’s do some moor hunting.” I clawed at the ground, desperate for a chance to stretch my legs. He glanced at me, “Won’t WindClan mind?” I shook my head, “If they do, we could always give some of our share to them. I mean we’re ‘rogues’ helping them, I’m sure we get some privileges.” “No I mean, shouldn’t you use the hunting area you found for the cold season?” Brownhare reminded me. I froze, then sighed, “Hm but, since their all hunting there, it’s logical that we hunt on the territory. I don’t know, but I think it’s worth a try hunting on the moor.” Brownhare merely dipped his head to me and bounded towards WindClan territory. I sprinted after him, my legs stretching and enjoying the freedom of racing across the bare land. As we raced, I could feel the wind stirring behind me and the snow scattering as we hared across onto WindClan territory. Suddenly, a dark shape loomed in front of me and I let out shriek as I was flung back. “Shade!” Brownhare had doubled back, but he was well surrounded. Rogues? I thought with unease. This close to the mainland? “Gorsepaw, what in the name of StarClan are you doing?” I recognized Snowbreeze’s voice, “Shade and Brownhare are helping the Clans, and you should know better than to attack them.” The apprentice lowered his head and muttered something incoherent, and Snowbreeze rolled her eyes, “Go back to camp and clean out the elders’ den.” Gorsepaw shuffled away, and the warriors around Brownhare quickly dispersed. “Honestly,” the white she-cat exclaimed, “what were you thinking, running onto WindClan territory like that?” She looked at me and Brownhare. “We were going to hunt.” Snowbreeze sighed and plopped herself on the snow covered land, “The hunting areas are down where Storm led us, remember?” “Yes, but we didn’t want to intrude on Clan privileges, so we decided to hunt here.” Brownhare muttered. I shrugged and began to pace, “Come on, let’s hunt a rabbit.” I mewed impatiently. Snowbreeze looked up in surprise as Brownhare nodded, “Here?” “Why not?” She scrambled to her paws and mewed, “You won’t find many rabbits around here, but you can try.” “Why don’t you join us?” I invited. Snowbreeze glanced at the other warriors, who nodded their approval. She straightened and mewed, “Sure, I’ll show you how too.” The hares were hard to find in the snow, and my eyes hurt after scanning the sparkling white land for hares. “There’s one!” Snowbreeze exclaimed. She started to hare after it, but I dashed forward too. My longer legs stretched out, and I was skimming the land, slowly catching up to Snowbreeze. I passed her easily and leaped, catching the rabbit before it could escape. “Nice catch!” Brownhare huffed, “You should be a WindClan cat.” Snowbreeze skidded to a halt and panted, “When did you learn to run like that?” I shrugged, trying to be modest, “I’ve always loved to run.” I admitted. Snowbreeze nudged the rabbit, “It’s scrawny, but it’ll do for you two.” She shook her head as I offered her some, “You two take it, I’ll be hunting myself soon.” I thanked her for the prey and we hauled it back to the island, shaking off the snow as we entered the shelter of the dense undergrowth. Tessa saw us coming back and opened her mouth to say something. Before she could say much, a ball of fur exploded from the bushes. “You’re back!” Squealing in fright and surprise, I reeled back, flopping over as the rabbit added onto my weight, unbalancing me. Mosskit tumbled out after her brother as Tessa let out a snort at my performance. Brownhare didn’t say anything, but he had an amused look on his face. I got back up unsteadily and glared at them all. Brownhare picked up the rabbit and divided it into four pieces. He passed Wavekit and Mosskit the tinier piece and passed a piece to Tessa and I. The two kits glanced at the rabbit, then shuffled their paws, “We usually eat fish. Storm used to give us fish too.” Mosskit explained. Wavekit nodded, “We’re sick of eating rabbits and mice, can we have fish?” I swallowed my mouthful of rabbit and stood up. I nuzzled them both and purred, “After I eat, I’ll fish you something.” Then turning to Brownhare and Tessa, I mewed, “I’ll get us some more prey too.” They nodded and I tucked into my piece of rabbit. Brownhare passed me another piece and I nodded in thanks for it. Quickly, I gulped down my prey and trotted towards the bridge and head towards RiverClan territory. Willowfur was seated by the river as I padded over, “What do you want?” I didn’t say anything and stared at the icy water. “It’s not frozen today if that’s what you’re wondering.” Glaring at her, I growled, “I’m trying to fish.” Willowfur snorted, “You, fish?” “I learned from my mother, you know?” I snarled, my neck fur fluffing up in annoyance, “Now be quiet before I make you fish for me.” Willowfur sniffed but didn’t say anything more as I continued to watch the water. I spotted movement and darted my paw in. I managed to grab the fish before toppling into the water. “Mouse-dung!” I hissed, killing the fish quickly and throwing it onto the bank. The water was freezing and by the time I had hauled myself out, I was shivering. Willowfur was looking at me in amusement, and I growled, “Get some more fish for me, it’s for Minnowfur’s kits and the others.” At the mention of Wavekit and Mosskit, Willowfur seated herself beside the river and scooped up three more. “Thanks,” I grunted, “Are you going to stay in RiverClan for the day?” She nodded, “Do you need me?” “No, it’s fine, but after the Gathering, we’re taking the leaders to the ‘high peaks’.” I mewed. She dipped her head in acknowledgement and I dragged the fish back to the island. “You’re all wet!” Tessa exclaimed and hurried over to clean me up, “Did you fall in or what?” “I slipped.” I mumbled as Brownhare gave me a look that I couldn’t decipher. Wavekit and Mosskit squealed at the sight of the prey and grabbed one eagerly. They dug in and I purred, despite the coldness that was seeping into my fur. Tessa finally managed to warm me up, and she mewed, “Do we each get one too?” She looked like she was still starving, and I nodded. She looked relieved as she grabbed on and so did Brownhare. I took one for myself, my stomach grumbling at the small amount of rabbit we had gotten. As we dined and lazily played with Mosskit and Wavekit, night was gathering. “Let’s get ready.” I mewed, jumping up. We cleaned away the extra moss we had gathered to play with the kits, and ushered them to the side so the Clans could gather when they arrived. The first Clan was RiverClan, and I spotted Willowfur stalking among her Clanmates. Mosskit squealed as one of the queens bent over and gave them both a lick on the cheek, while Wavekit looked embarrassed. As the Clans filed in, I spotted others among them. Suddenly, a small, lithe gray streak of fur flashed at the edge of the clearing. Storm? But the gray blob of fur stopped near WindClan, and I sighed in disappointment. Oh, it’s Graystorm... I still don’t know what to do with him. “Do you mind if we join too?” I jumped at the sound of the voice. “Frosty!” Tessa yelped, jumping backwards, “What are you doing here?” Frosty and Kitkat and several others of her cats were seated behind her. “We wanted to represent ourselves in front of our allies at your ‘Gathering’. Plus, don’t you have information that you got from us to share?” She aimed the last sentence at Tessa, who turned away. I narrowed my eyes at them, “You better stay true to your word about being allies with us. One wrong mistake and we’ll trap you like a fly.” Frosty only purred and stretched, “Tell me when you’re ready to be peaceful.” Kitkat brushed by me and she sat down, twisting around to groom her tail. Brownhare was glaring at them, but he pointedly turned away. “Cats of all four Clans, let the Gathering begin!” Bramblestar didn’t seem to notice the rogues sitting on the side. The cats on the island hushed, and I couldn’t help but remember only a moon ago, the raging battle that had taken place on the island. When... when my secret was revealed. When I lost Storm to this new rogue group. “We have successfully recovered from the earlier rogue attack, and now, we have made allies with them, in order to retrieve the kidnapped cats.” Bramblestar began. Immediately, roars of disapproval echoed around the clearing. One of the apprentices shouted, “The rogues aren’t welcome here!” Another mewed, “They’re in the clearing!” Every single Clan cat turned and stared nosily at the small group of rogues. Some of the warriors were bristling with hostility, but others were sympathetic about the group that wasn’t welcome. “You shouldn’t have come to the Gathering!” “We don’t want to alliance with you rogues!” “Uncivilized killers!” “Get out before we make you!” Insults and defiant yowls rang around the clearing. Kitkat didn’t seem to be affected, and Frosty was glaring at everyone who dared get close. The other rogues that flanked the two leaders crouched low, as if they were nervous about being with the hostile Clan cats. “Silence!” the words came out of my mouth before I could stop them, “We’re not here to talk dirt about the rogues, we’re here to form an alliance with them, and to get our missing cats back.” The hostility to them didn’t go away. In fact, I was beginning to hear rumors about me. “You’re not a Clan cat...” “Yeah, they’re not ‘our’ cats, or at least you’re not included...” “Where’s Storm anyways?” “Why is she here?” I gulped, trying not to back down to the hostile whispers. Mistystar had her eyes narrowed at Frosty and Kitkat, and she didn’t say anything. Bramblestar and Blackstar were having a heated conversation, while Onestar was muttering under his breath. “Everyone, listen to your leaders!” Snowbreeze shouted, her white fur glowing in the moonlight. She had stood up, and then Dawnfur followed suit. After a few moments, Willowfur joined them. The attention of the cats went to the three of them, “Who are you to speak for all of us?” Some of the warriors called out. “You’re younger than us, and probably less experienced than we are!” Dawnfur glared at them. “''We'' happened to have saved all of you, we’d be starving right now if it wasn’t for Shade and her sister, Storm! We’d be dead right now if Tessa hadn’t turned the tables and helped us. We’d have no clue on how to help ShadowClan when Shimmershard was stealing their prey if Brownhare hadn’t helped! All these cats, even us, rely on outsiders to help us. We need to put our past behind and listen!” That’s a start... Dawnfur talking good about us rogues. Bramblestar cleared his throat, “I know you all hate this alliance that we’ve formed without your consent, but please, it’s for the sake of our cats.” Tessa slowly stood up, “If I may, Bramblestar, I’d like to speak.” Instantly, there were hostile murmurs about the ginger she-cat. Bramblestar hurriedly waved his tail for silence, and indicated that Tessa could speak. “When I was in the rogue group,” she began, “I learned something valuable from Frosty and Kitkat.” The two rogue leaders exchanged bewildered glances. “They taught us vigilance, and to keep going when all seems down. Never give up! That’s another lesson I learned.” Tessa’s soft and delicate voice echoed around the clearing. “You may have lost your friends, your family to this other rogue group, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up. “So many of you want to blame it on others, and you don’t want to be the only one suffering. “Is it really Frosty and Kitat’s fault that your friends and family are disappearing? “Are they really the cause of all this trouble?” Tessa’s green eyes were mesmerizing. “There was something else I learned.” Her eyes softened. “It was something called love. Haven’t you loved somebody? Are some of your loved ones gone right now? “I loved once, in the different way than you can imagine. It wasn’t... in my favor, but I didn’t give up. I gave up a life I could have had with Frosty and Kitat to join her. You,” she met gazes around the clearing, “All of you want to blame others for the fact that you’ve lost somebody.” She took in a breath, “We’re about to change your life.” Tessa turned and beckoned to me to join her. I stood up once more, and this time there were only hushed excitement. “We learned from a spy that if you look down from the ‘high peaks’ at midnight, you would be able to see something. Tonight, I, and Shade, will bring your leaders to wherever we need to go, and soon, your lives will change.” Every word she said was caught and held in the air. And the best part was... They cheered. Tessa’s face brought out into a soft smile, and I twined my tail in hers. “You did it,” I whispered, “You’re the real hero.” ~ “Are you sure it’s this the hill we’re supposed to be?” Frosty sounded hesitant, “Isn’t there somewhere else...?” I shrugged, “It’s the highest mountain we can find around here, and I’m sure Duskshadow meant somewhere close.” Soon, your lives will change... Tessa was crouched beside me, but her eyes were unfocused. “What’s wrong?” I mewed softly. “I told the world...” she whispered, “I told them everything that I lived for. Is that how you get them to listen to you? Tell them why you’re here, why you live?” I stroked her flank, “It worked didn’t it? Plus... I think you needed to tell them. It helped you too.” She smiled, “Thanks, Shade, I’m glad you understand.” Do I? Do ''I know the meaning of love?'' “Hey, um, Shade,” Willowfur called out, her eyes wide, “Get up here now!” Brownhare and Graystorm were staring down in amazement, and Snowbreeze was laughing. Dawnfur was gaping, and I quickly bounded up with Tessa by my side. “By the stars...” Below us, was a camp with cats everywhere. “We found it... we really found it.” The End. Category:Cchen3's Fanfics Category:Cold